Roof Rack Special for August

I'm definitely interested, in fact I was thinking of having a local shop fab one that hugs the shape of the roof front to back like yours right?

How much to ship to Reno, NV 89521? I can drive to Sacramento, CA if someone needs one down there.

A few suggestions, I'm basing these on Wasted's pics not sure if you've changed your design since then:

As for mounting can you make the mounting tabs smaller (not as wide) I noticed you used a big square block is there a reason for this that I am missing? So is one bolt supposed to replace the one that mounts the stock rail to the roof? This might be a source of leakage if so. So instead maybe make the mounting plate longer so you can use two of the 3 sliding mounting plates for one leg and supply an extra slding mounting plate to use with the 3rd sliding plate for the other leg. I hope I am making sense. There are 2 legs on each side right? Or just supply a sliding mounting plate with two threaded holes. I'd pay extra for either.

How's the front mounting plate? Would abigger plate make sense? I'd hate a to get a big dent on my roof specially towards the front where it could easily be seen.

Wasted commented on wind noise, I was wondering if instead of a flat front a curved front matching the roof/top of the windshield shape would be better specially with a fairing. At a minimum it would look better and more custom made for the 3rd gen. How much would it cost for an aluminum fairing?

How about a couple of removable cross bars as an option, you know like the ones on the FJ. This way you can mount lots of stuff like bike carriers, cargo boxes, etc...
You can even use these bars to span over the sun roof if needed.

This is an awesome product! How long would it take to get one?

Thanks!
 
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Shipping to reno would be the same as shipping to socal, so splitting would still be the best option if possible.

The mounting tabs are not blocks, they are pieces of angle and yes, one bolt uses an attachment point of the stock rails and one uses one of the stock sliders, at each corner, there is no greater risk of leaking than with the factory hardware (mine hasnt leaked and i pull it on and off all the time). If you have another idea for a mount you'd like to plan out, im happy to see/build it for you. i do not laser cut, cnc machine, or have tooling to make complicated moving parts, FYI.

the front mounts cant be much bigger before becoming unsightly, however, if you'd like larger plates, i'm happy to accommodate. that area of the roof was never intended to support anything but itself so any time you load the roof the majority of the weight needs to be towards the rear. ive not had any issues carrying lumber or my 14 fishing kayak which would both hang over the front of the rack.

Wind noise comes from the tube itself, flat or curved wouldnt matter. picture swinging a broomstick around, it will make noise no matter its shape. Also, to roll tube into the shape of that area will require an expensive tube roller. As it stands, there is no other rack i've seen for a third gen that fits as well as mine. a simple wind fairing can be made from plexiglass which totally eliminates wind noise.

extra cross bars can be added easily, permanent or removable, for a little extra.

thanks
 
Can you post a close up picture of how the rack mounts to the factory rails? sorry, just not picturing it clearly...thanks!
 
this is one of the mounts, there are 4 of these, 2 on each side. you would remove the two end bolts from your factory rails, set the rack on, then re-install the bolts into the factory holes. then slide the sliders under the other hole in my mount and install the bolt.

IMAG0202.jpg~original
 
Anyone in the Texas region interested? I'm in the DFW metro and sure would like to split shipping with someone.
 
Man why oh why do you have to do this to me.... I love this rack but cash flow is still tight. I have a couple questions though.

1. Is the wall thickness of the tubing on the side rails strong enough to support adding attachment points for rear quarter panel protection (Behind the rear doors) tied to the bumper using bushings for vibration and body flex? would there be enough thickness to adequately support these mounts with 3/16th mounting tabs gusseted between the upper and lower side tubes? Looks like you can get the bushings in 1.75 x .120 too if there would be room to just squeeze it between the side tubes on the rack to save making a gusset to mount them and keeping them tighter to the edge of the rack.

bushed%20sleeve.jpg


2. I would also be looking at a way to mount a rack of some sort for snowboards etc, and would need cross tubes. Is there enough room under the cross tubes to cut holes in the mesh to mount up say a Yakima snowboard rack? I wanna say there would need to be 2" clearance underneath the cross tubes for that to work. Otherwise I would have to look in to ways of mounting a couple cross bars up off the top rails. I know one person that purchased you rack mounting it directly to the roof which set the cross bars on the roof in the center. What would the cross bar clearance be with them mounted as you designed it, on top of the factory rack mounts.

My main need for the rack would be to have an upper mount for rear quarter impact protection while wheelin harder trails, a place to mount 3 rotopax 4 gal gas cans, CB whip, flag mount, and maybe a couple 20" light bars way down the road. Also you had mentioned that a wind fairing was an option. What if we just wanted the tabs welded up for mounting a fairing. That should cut down a bit of cost for the fairing itself correct?

Hopefully im making sense. I will get pictures up tonight showing what my plans are for the rear side protection. Should give you a better idea on whether or not it would work.
 
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Whitson Metalworks said:
Shipping to reno would be the same as shipping to socal, so splitting would still be the best option if possible.

The mounting tabs are not blocks, they are pieces of angle and yes, one bolt uses an attachment point of the stock rails and one uses one of the stock sliders, at each corner, there is no greater risk of leaking than with the factory hardware (mine hasnt leaked and i pull it on and off all the time). If you have another idea for a mount you'd like to plan out, im happy to see/build it for you. i do not laser cut, cnc machine, or have tooling to make complicated moving parts, FYI.

the front mounts cant be much bigger before becoming unsightly, however, if you'd like larger plates, i'm happy to accommodate. that area of the roof was never intended to support anything but itself so any time you load the roof the majority of the weight needs to be towards the rear. ive not had any issues carrying lumber or my 14 fishing kayak which would both hang over the front of the rack.

Wind noise comes from the tube itself, flat or curved wouldnt matter. picture swinging a broomstick around, it will make noise no matter its shape. Also, to roll tube into the shape of that area will require an expensive tube roller. As it stands, there is no other rack i've seen for a third gen that fits as well as mine. a simple wind fairing can be made from plexiglass which totally eliminates wind noise.

extra cross bars can be added easily, permanent or removable, for a little extra.

thanks
Click to expand...

I sent you a PM regarding the mounting options.

I just really think the curved front to match the shape/curve of the roof/windshiled would look awesome. You've done such a great job customizing it to the 3rd gen, how about a couple more bends?

How are you thinking of implementing the removable cross bars? Looks like crazydubman is interested in them too. I just think its a great option and since its removable/movable it has great potential and will have 101 uses!
 
Depending on whether the sides are completely paralell or not would dictate the ability to move a set of removable crossbars forward or back along the side rails. I have seen tube clamps that could work as the removable ends for 1 3/4 OD tubing but not sure about for thinner. They are pricy though. Ballistic fab sells them.

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/OD-Tube-Clamp_p_1474.html

There is also this option but only goes down to 1.5"

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/OD-Tube-Clamp-w-Mounting-Tab-Pair_p_1832.html

Looks like they come for 1.25, 1.5, and 1.75 OD tubing.
I think your side rails on the rack are 1.25 correct Whitson?
 
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i just threw my money in the ring, and if the PNW guys want to save on shipping now is your time!!!!!!

i went with a drop in grate for the sunroof as the only extra at this point as i am not trying to get the guy to build a jig just for my rack. if this was in the gobi price range i would expect basically a complete custom job , but not in this case, the price is fair enough to me where i don't think i can justify him having to make a completely new jig to accommodate my exact needs.
 
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Just to be clear, I am not asking for anything special for me, just info on the rack itself so I can add to it to suit my needs. :biggrin2: Don't want to purchase one only to have to redesign it completely if it won't suit what I need. I have no problem making small modifications to the rack itself just need to make sure it will be strong enough for what i need. Small tabs and such I can take care of myself.

Congrats on the buy izzard. Hopefully at some point I will have the extra to commit to a purchase.
 
crazydubman said:
Just to be clear, I am not asking for anything special for me, just info on the rack itself so I can add to it to suit my needs. :biggrin2: Don't want to purchase one only to have to redesign it completely if it won't suit what I need. I have no problem making small modifications to the rack itself just need to make sure it will be strong enough for what i need. Small tabs and such I can take care of myself.

Congrats on the buy izzard. Hopefully at some point I will have the extra to commit to a purchase.
Click to expand...

hehe no worries, i think i came across as a ****, wasn't trying to , just saying he's working within a jig, sorry about that, don't mind me.:biggrin2:
 
Sideways, this thing is strong! Should be plenty strong to mount tabs for your ideas. actually, the roof mounted factory rails would give way long before you could deform the side rails of the rack laterally.
 
What about if the factory rack was removed? I know WastedAccount mounted his directly to the roof and it was pretty much making contact with the center tubes. Would mounting it directly to the roof hold any stronger than to the factory rails? If that were the route I would take, could 1" longer mounts be made to sit the rack just a little higher without using the factory rack strips?

Sorry for all the question but hey I would rather be sure its gonna work for my needs than get it and not be completely satisfied. I will make sure I post a picture of what im thinking with the quarter panel protection when I get home tonight.

Thanks again for your speedy and in depth responses. I know we all appreciate that coming from a seller.
 
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crazydubman said:
What about if the factory rack was removed? I know WastedAccount mounted his directly to the roof and it was pretty much making contact with the center tubes. Would mounting it directly to the roof hold any stronger than to the factory rails?
Click to expand...


No.


I didn't read what you want to do but I put 100+lbs of wood up there and the rear mounts sunk into the roof. The rear of the roof is not strong enough for a bunch of weight. This is after I put the strips back in and added 3/8ths in thick rubber pads at all four mounts. The tack bounced so bad on dirt roads it would smack the roof due to deflection at the rear mounts.

The rack held up fine. :)
 
Thank you for the input Wasted.
My thought was incorporating the rack into a sort of rear quarter exo with bushing at both ends of the side plating to allow for the natural movement of the body and frame independantly. The basket would at most hold 100lbs of fuel cans. (3, 4 gallon rotopax cans strapped to the back up against the back railing). Only other thing would be maybe lights up front at some point tucked behind a clear wind deflector. I already have plans for storage for camping, tools, and recovery gear in the cargo area inside. Problem is that fuel cans have no space.

Are you saying that the factory mounts won't hold up to the weight up top?
 
Not sure about factory mounts. I don't have them. All I have is the strips. No mounts just a molded over metal plastic strip.
 
ah ok. Ya I would think that the factory rails would distribute the weight a little more even across a larger surface. Looks like thats how I would set mine up then. You might want to see about picking up a factory rack to get that strength back. Or just see about maybe running a strip of steel where the factory bars would be to help distribute the load and sandwich it between the roof and the rack.
 
I'm looking into both options. I was really disappointed when I discovered this problem. Its not the racks fault though, its the roof.
 
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